Dispatches from the 10th Crusade

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Fisher-More College

The College of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More was launched in Fort Worth, Texas, on the 5th of May. It is really the continuation of St. Thomas More College, begun in 1981, but reorganized along classical and traditionalist lines. Longtime W4 readers will be pleased to learn that May 5 was chosen because it is the feast of Pope St. Pius V, who "instituted the Feast of Our Lady of Victory—a particularly fond title of Our Lady to certain members of our faculty. This feast was instituted in gratitude for victory in the Battle of Lepanto since the victory was attributed to Our Lady after all of Europe prayed the Rosary for aid."

Liturgically, the College is devoted to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, with the blessing of the diocese. It's the only four-year college of its kind in the United States (and perhaps the world). The academic curriculum seems fairly rigorous. In addition to liberal arts, the college plans to offer a business and commerce degree. Fisher-More is the first to fulfill a long neglected "niche" in American higher education.

I hope you'll take some time to persuse the website, and if similarly inspired, spread the news.

Comments (17)

I know this won't be popular here, but I think it's sad that such a reactionary institution has been founded in this age of reason. The point of the university is to Foster academic freedom and unbiased inquiry, not serve as an indoctrination center for a moribund and discredited worldview that died with the massive Western empires built on unjust conquest and plunder.

Meanwhile, here's the story of a writer being fired from The Chronicle of Higher Education for noting that the dissertations coming out of Black Studies programs from those academically free and unbiased colleges are pure crap. Yep, a veritable age of reason free inquiry.

I'm afraid your post starts with a misrepresentation. Fisher-More College is NOT a continuation of the College of St. Thomas More, except in the most literal sense. It is the same legal institution, but the faculty, curriculum, liturgy, culture, vision, and mission have all been changed. It is a completely different college from the old St. Thomas More.

Additionally, Fisher-More College is not a reorganization of St. Thomas More along classical lines. Traditionalist, yes, but not classical. The former College of St. Thomas More was perhaps the most classical Catholic college in the country -- it drew deeply upon the structure and vision of the medieval university and of old Oxford, and its curriculum involved the reading of the great works of Western Civilization, with the order and hierarchy of the classical Catholic tradition. Fisher-More College does not appear to be devoted to reading the great works of Western Civilization (except perhaps in literature), and its vision and mission are quite different from both the medieval and Oxfordian traditions. Its sources, its models are the parochial and seminary institutions of the relatively recent Catholic past, combined with a misguided and stunningly simplistic understanding of college education.

Are you certain that the local bishop has given his blessing to Fisher-More's celebration of the Extraordinary Form to the exclusion of the Ordinary Form?

I am sure that most people know about this school only from what they have been told by the people at the school, the public relations pieces that it produces, etc. My family has been friends with the founder of the school, many of the members of the board, many of the faculty since the inception of the school. Two years ago, two of my children accepted full ride scholarships because I was not aware of what was happening. One of my sons also worked there. When I was apprised of the situation, I withdrew my children immediately and am now paying for college for them to avoid the toxicity at this school. It is important to know that all that glitters is not gold and that the leadership of this organization has acted unethically and in un-Catholic ways. Here are some sample data points …

The president of the college …
- suggested to the staff to lie to governmental officials regarding the financial management of the school;
- continuously abused the faculty and staff by yelling filthy epithets;
- lied repeatedly to faculty, staff, and the dean about unpaid bills;
- summarily fired the dean of students (the only scholastic they ever had on the faculty) when he refused to cooperate with the aforementioned unethical, un-Catholic behavior - a father of five without notice, cause or meaningful separation pay with which to support his family.
- summarily fired other staff members when they brought these irregularities to the Board’s attention;
- has overseen a revolving door of faculty and staff at the school over the last couple years. THIS NOW INCLUDES THE FRATERNITY OF ST. PETER CHAPLAIN THAT HAS NOW WITHDRAWN.

The school …
- does not tell the truth in the description of the college. They claim to be scholastic, but do not have one scholastic on the faculty, staff or board – just because you mention or admire St. Thomas doesn’t make you Thomistic or Scholastic;
- has been through multiple deans, faculty and staff in the last two years – Who is the current dean?
- the board may have been overhauled yet again, but the board was not substantially Traditional as of the last time the president shuffled it two years ago. How can a school with a board that is not Traditional be Traditional?
- claimed on Angelqueen that the school has 400 students. No clarity was given around this. This would represent hyper growth from two years ago of six (6) college students, six (6) high school then they merged with an online school a year or so ago. Misrepresentation? I report - you decide.

Far from making faceless accusations I am happy to address each and every one of these items (and more) publicly with the president of the college (or anyone else for that matter) even on his (their) own campus to bring clarity to the situation, but I have a feeling that that won’t be happening any time soon. I am also available for private discussion if preferred.

God bless and, as always, be vigilant against wolves in sheep's clothing!

FYI - I received a call yesterday from Mr. Robert Drumm – member of the Board of Trustees of Fisher More College. Here is my post in response - I thought you might be interested …

He took exception with my post enumerating a subset of the issues with Fisher More College, and then attempted to blackmail me into removing the comments.
He informed me that if I would not remove my comments on the college from the Remnant website (he must have meant this Remnant Facebook page) by 6:00 pm today that he was going to make comments “telling the truth about Jozef (my son) and Ryan Madison (the former dean who was the only scholastic associated with the college since the new regime)”.
These "truths", he said, included that my son was an insubordinate employee and that Ryan Madison, while a great academic, was not a good administrator. To the accusation that my son was insubordinate, I say “So?” He was insubordinate by not complying with the craziness that the administration was involved in. The claim that Ryan Madison is a poor administrator is false on its very face. There were only eight students at the time that he was there. One couldn’t have known if he is good or bad administrator - he had nothing of significance to administer.
I asked him if he would like to talk about the truth of the matter. He said that he would not, and that this was “his apostolate and that I need to disassociate myself with the college.”
I am not associated with the college, but at one time I …
a) excitedly told all of my friends what a wonderful thing that “this new Traditional College” was;
b) arranged meetings with my friends to meet with the president for fundraising and recruiting purposes;
c) accepted full ride scholarships for two of my sons (a one year and a four year);
d) was asked if I would be willing to write the college’s business plan;
e) identified a $5M property for donation to the college and assisted in getting an initial meeting to the end; and
f) was ready to help take the next steps to secure the donation (build the business plan).

… that was until I became aware of the issues.

Mr. Drumm also made the claim that by bringing these items to light, I was trying to take over the school. This claim is also, false on its face. I brought the concerns to the competent authority, namely the Board. I am no more the one to be president of a school than the current president.
We shall see what, if anything, Mr. Drumm, posts, but whatever it is, he refused an open forum (other than a internet exchange) and he refused to discuss the veracity of the claims “until I removed the comments.” He said that he would “give me two hours of his time” only if I would remove them. I informed him that I don’t want his two hours, but that I was willing to engage in a open Catholic discussion of the facts of the matter just as I did when I took these concerns to the Board as they were coming to my attention – a courtesy which has never been returned by even one member of the Board.

I am writing as the parent of a current student at Fisher More College. Let me start out by saying that neither I, nor any member of my family, is now, nor have we ever been an employee of Fisher More (this includes the Academy). Let me also state that we actually pay for our tuition. I mention this information to make clear that we receive no money or funds from Fisher More College. We are not indebted to them in any way and our daughter is not attending because we needed free tuition – she is attending because we chose Fisher More after investigating and watching the 5-6 small ‘orthodox’ or ‘some-what orthodox’ Catholic schools available.

Let me also state that I am the ultimate micro-manager when it comes to my daughter – from her clothes, to her hair, to her friends, where she goes, what she does… I am not bragging, I am aware this is not necessarily good. That is another discussion altogether. My reason for mentioning this is so that you can understand the research and investigation we must have done before sending our daughter to school at Fisher More.

We started investigating the other colleges during my daughter’s freshman year. We got on mailing lists, visited reps at homeschool conferences, spoke to parents, students, administrators, priests, you name it. We looked into campus activities, access to the Latin Mass, prayer life, oversight between the sexes, the courses taught and the books used – did they teach Theology of the Body, what encyclicals were they teaching from, what type of history were they teaching, where do they stand on evolution and geocentrism, what is their position toward the SSPX?

We knew we absolutely did not want to send her to a state run school. We had heard too many bad stories from friends who chose that option. When looking into the ‘some-what orthodox’ Catholic schools, we found some good things but a lot of things that concerned us. Theology of the Body being one issue at we found at several of the schools. While there seemed to be access to the Tradition Mass at most of these schools to some extent or another, none of these schools focused on or revolved around it. The impression I received was more that it is ‘tolerated’. I actually had the President of one of these schools tell me that they have students who grew up only attending the Traditional Mass and now they happily attend the Novus Ordo with their classmates and have come to accept it. He meant this as a positive statement about the school. As you can imagine, I was not impressed. That was exactly one of my concerns and it was the same complaint I had heard from several parents I know who have chosen these schools. For some, their children had completely stopped going to Mass when they attended a state school so when they made the switch to one of these other schools, they were happy that their child was at least going to Mass again – but most were very upset that their child had started attending the Novus Ordo, even if only occasionally. I was also told by several, including a Sister and a number of priests, that it is possible for a Traditional Catholic to attend these schools and still hold to their Faith. Each of these campuses has a group of Traditional Catholic students that tend to stick together in order to survive, and there are a couple of Traditional Catholic teachers at each of these campuses too. We were told our daughter is a good girl and she knows her Faith, she’ll get into one of those groups and she’ll be able to make it through. ‘Make it through’ – that was what we were told. That was not reassuring to me. I am not a gambler, I don’t even like to buy raffle tickets. Not because I think it is immoral but because I don’t like to take chances, I hate the unknown. I was not willing to take a chance, or gamble, with my daughter’s future. I did not want my daughter, upon her first experiences out on her own, to have to go out to some place where she was just tolerated or could just ‘make it through’. We wanted her to have the opportunity to live among Traditional Catholic students, and have Traditional Catholic teachers, and have the Traditional Latin Mass and prayer life on a daily basis for this next phase in her life. We felt this was an important next step in her formation before entering the secular world. We were not convinced that any of the schools we had looked at, up to that point, were going to provide what we were looking for. We felt that no matter what choice we made, it would be a compromise for our family.

We first heard of Fisher More in early 2012. We immediately started looking into the school, researching it, and speaking to people about it. We were very skeptical at the time, yet very hopeful. The school was new and we were not sure that they could/would stick to their guns about the Traditional Latin Mass and the Traditional Catholic focus of the school. As we continued to watch and investigate, we found ourselves being more and more drawn to this school. During this time, we happened to come across two excellent talks given by Professor Strauch (Professor of Theology at FMC). After listening to his talks we were ever more convinced that this school was dedicated to Traditional Catholicism. It was a place that did not just tolerate our Traditional Catholic child but that was formed just for our Traditional Catholic child and all others like her.

We did not know the President of the school, although our daughter had met his daughter, one of his nieces, and one of his nephews at a Choral camp a couple of years previously. I had also had the pleasure of meeting his sister-in-law and her family on a trip to St. Louis. This was before ever hearing about Fisher More.

During my daughter’s Senior year of high school, we started investigating deeper as it was time to make a decision. We contacted the school several times by phone and email and were always very pleased with our conversations. We found everyone we spoke to always be very forthcoming. They always answered all our questions. We were always very frank with them on our positions and they were always very open with us. My husband then arranged to visit the school in person after the first of the year. He spent several days there and spoke with the President, as well as some of the professors, administrative staff, and students. He spoke both in groups and one-on-one situations. He took them a long list of questions I had compiled, as well as some that family members had. They eagerly answered all of our questions. My husband came away very pleased and excited. From that point on we had decided our daughter would attend FMC.

When we arrived at the end of August, I was certain we had made a wise decision to send our daughter, but I since I had never visited the school myself, I still was not sure what to expect. Words cannot even begin to tell you how happy I was with the school once we arrived. From the moment we arrived, we were greeted by the staff and students. Everyone was like instant friends and instant family – they were all so happy, so friendly, so generous and charitable. It was as if we had known everyone our entire lives. Everyone was so eager to assist us with unloading our SUV that was stuffed full with my daughter’s ‘stuff’. It only took a matter of minutes before the entire truck was unloaded and everything was in our daughter’s room on the 5th floor. I was truly amazed. My daughter, who already knew that I wanted her to stay at the hotel with us the first few nights, was already asking for an exception to that decision. She too had fallen in love with the school from the moment of her arrival and could not wait to stay there with all her fellow students.

We stayed in Ft. Worth for almost a week getting our daughter settled. During this time, we attended daily Mass at the school and whatever meetings and events they had for the families. I also sat in on all the meetings they had for the students. My husband visited with Mr. King, Mr. Fabaz, Mr. Onochie, and several of the professors; including over some private lunches and dinners. I also visited with many of the same people as well as a lot of the parents and the students. I also took several students shopping with us on each of our many trips to the store. I feel that our week long trip to the school gave us a pretty good idea of what it was like there and we were very pleased. We were pleased with the parents we met, we were pleased with the students we met, and we were pleased with all of our conversations with Mr. King, Mr. Onochie, Mr. Fabaz, and the other faculty and staff members. This school was absolutely Catholic – it was Traditional Catholic and it intends to fully remain Traditional Catholic. We were absolutely pleased with the leadership of the school, especially Mr. King. We found Mr. King to be a very kind, humble, unpretentious man. Mr. King is one of those people who has a very kind face that almost seems to have a certain glow about it – as if the goodness from within is shining without. When we left to return home, we found ourselves wanting to stay and attend college all over again ourselves. At first we thought that line of thought was unique to my husband and myself but after talking to several other parents, it turns out they had all been saying the same thing to their own children.

Once home, I initially required our daughter to stay in daily contact and we discussed everything that was going on – the staff, the faculty, the students, her classes, the activities, you name it - I questioned her regularly. I also kept track by checking her email. Over time, we have gone down to a few phone calls a week and I still question her like crazy about everything. That said, we are still just as happy now as we were when we dropped her off at the school, maybe even happier. Our daughter was already a good girl. She was already a leader amongst her friends in our very small town, but she has truly grown in to an amazing and confident young adult in her short time at Fisher More. She has taken on a real leadership role among her peers. She has a full schedule between the several hours a day the students spend in the Chapel, classes, studying, choir practice, newspaper meetings, 40 Days for Life, special outings, her service hours and whatever other meetings; yet she is handling it all with grace and a joyful disposition. We have always been very proud of her but we are even more so now, if that is possible. There are no words to express how pleased we are with her development at Fisher More.

Over the past few weeks, my daughter has expressed to me how much she loves being at Fisher More. The students, along with the faculty and staff, have grown into one big happy family. Everyone is not perfect, and large families sometimes annoy one another, but over all everyone gets along very well and they are truly happy. My daughter tells me that Mr. King is one of the nicest persons she has ever met. He is always accessible to the students and willing to meet with them and speak to them whenever they request. According to my daughter, she does not believe there is one student at the school who would not back her up in that statement. In addition, the other faculty and staff members are always eager to meet with the students and help them with whatever problems they may have whenever they can.

Our daughter has always had confidence that whenever she, or someone she knows, faced any problems whatsoever, she could come to her parents and we would do everything in our power to ‘fix it’. Sometimes the tasks she saddles us with are a bit out of our control but it warms my heart that she has such confidence in us and what we can do. My daughter now has that same confidence in several people at the school, Mr. King being one of them. This speaks volumes to me. Among my friends and family, I am known for having almost a 6th sense when it comes to accessing the character of the people I meet. I don’t know how it is but I am usually correct in my assessment. Over the years, I have come to recognize that my daughter has very good judgment of her own and seems to share this same quality that I have in making character assessments. I place a lot of value in what she tells me and when she tells me Mr. King is a good man, I believe her. Her judgment coincides with what I had already discerned.

Now, to Mr. Schutzman, I do not know him and have never heard of him before reading his comments here. I will not make personal comments about him. I was going to address some of the comments he posted but have decided to let it go because it would be impossible for me to do so without engaging him negative manner.

If you are interested in Fisher More College or Fisher More Academy, I encourage you to check it out for yourself. Do not take my word for it but certainly don’t take Mr. Schutzman’s either. Check out the school yourself. Call the school ,email the school, and visit the school. Find out for yourself what the school is about and what it is like. If possible, take several days to visit the school, meet with the faculty and staff, and observe the students. Have lunch and dinner with them. Make a decision based on first hand experiences and not second hand gossip. Every school, every business, every club, even every Chapel (just ask the SSPX), has that one person (sometimes more than one) who is disgruntled for one reason or another. They always have their reasons and truly believe themselves to be justified. I always make an attempt to take these type of comments with a grain of salt, to draw my own conclusions based on my own experiences. That is what I am urging anyone interested in the school to do – draw your own opinion from your own experiences.

Fisher More College was organized specifically for Traditional Catholic families. There was a gap and Fisher More is filling it. This is what so many parents have asked for and have been waiting for so long. This is our school! It is meant for us! Let us all help to make it a huge success. If Fisher More College can succeed, there is no reason to believe that more schools like it won’t begin to pop up in other areas of the country but, as first Traditional Catholics, we have to show that want these schools and we can and will support these schools.

The following was written by a student at Fisher More College. It is an excellent article and gives great insight into the life of the school. I encourage everyone to read this wonderful article by Therese Gerads.

​There is no doubt that our college is unique. Everyone who visits Fisher More College or even meets a staff member or student is struck by a realization that somehow this college is different. Joy and enthusiasm abound,there is a strong sense of community and order, and everyone seems well educated and confident. What is it that creates this distinctly pleasant atmosphere? Students have traveled thousands of miles from New York, Ohio, Minnesota or California to be a part of this college. Why? The secret to this college, its atmosphere,its goals, everything can be said in one word – “ Catholic”. It is thus that we are distinguished, by our Faith. When asked why I chose Fisher More, my answer can be very simple: it is a college where my good Catholic education will be continued, not challenged or put in jeopardy.

​In attending an ordinary secular college one would need to schedule in time for prayer between the studies required. At Fisher More, prayer is scheduled as part of every day. Our school day here centers around the Chapel and the prayers and offices we say there before the Blessed Sacrament. The morning begins with the Divine Office of Terce followed by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, preparing one for whatever the day may hold. After morning classes and before our noon meal we again meet in the Chapel for the Rosary. Vespers ends our day of classes and Compline is said for our night prayers. Prayer and the spiritual life are not limited to those hours we spend together in the Chapel, far from it. Every class and meal begins and ends with a prayer and we are told that if we are not interested in the progress of our own spiritual lives, then this is not the place for us.

​The goal of the college is first and foremost the continuation of a Catholic formation. Here we are taught by example and encouraged to integrate our Faith as the essential part of our life that it must be. Upon walking into any room on campus you can scan the walls and you will find a crucifix in a prominent place. So it is that in every aspect of our lives we must never leave sight of the cross of Christ, our salvation. The Chapel is situated in the center of the building, almost as the heart of it. This is what gives life to our school, unites us, inspires us, marks and distinguishes us. Our coat of arms is crowned by the Sacred Heart to Whom the college is consecrated and Whom we claim as our King of Kings. Likewise the building has been dedicated to Our Lady of Victory and we trust her to take care of us, her children, in her home here. As examples to follow we have before us our patrons, Saints John Fisher and Thomas More, both martyrs, and by our strengthening of our Faith here we may likewise, through the grace of God, be able and willing to lay our lives down for our Faith if ever called to do so.

​Fisher More College is in every aspect a Catholic college and it is this that distinguishes it from any secular college. Its motto “To know, love and serve God” is the summary of what we students have come here for. What makes us appear exceptional is not our high IQ’s or astounding talents, though we do have our share of those, but our Faith and the practice of it. Every day when we enter the Chapel our eyes are drawn to the crucifix dominating the sanctuary and we know why we are here.

"We operate on the motto that the parents' 18 years of sacrifice and commitment raising their children Catholic at home should not be undone in 3 months of college." - Dr. Michael King, President, Fisher More College

I have been trying to reach a student or member of the extended families in regard to assisting in funding the school. I'm not sure where to start, and I know no-one who attends the college. Would it be possible for you to e-mail me, so that I might get some direction?

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